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If this is true, Adams needs to grow a pair. I understand keeping a core group together, but KA must fix the holes in the lineup. If a guy isn’t carrying his weight a good GM moves on. Truthfully Adams should know better.

The team should have buried Washington tonight. They stopped giving the necessary effort 7 minutes into the 2nd period and they lost because of it. Send Krebs down if you're not going to play him. Send Levi down as well. Trade Joki and get a 3rd/4th center or KA might as well admit he doesn't give two craps if this makes the playoffs.

It’s hard to know what is going to happen. Skinner, Tuch, TNT, Cozens, Greenway, Quinn and JJP are under contract. I don’t see a reason that any of them will be traded. Mitts is rapidly earning an extension. Given our need for centers, playmakers and defensively responsible players, Mitts seems like a necessity going forward. That’s 8 returning forwards. The next wave is knocking on the door. Benson is on his way to staying in Buffalo this season. Note: if he doesn’t return to Juniors this season, he won’t be eligible for the AHL next year either because of his age (if he plays in Juniors this season, he’ll have 4 years in the WHL and will be exempt from the age requirement). Rosen and Kulich are dominating offensively in the AHL and will earn a call-up soon than later. Savoie is now probably a step behind Benson, Kulich and Rosen.

They fixed the story.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/it-was-a-ball-of-fire-couple-witnesses-vehicle-explosion-at-rainbow-bridge/71-31f5d0fe-1f67-4673-b713-a2050fb11f05 Eyewitness interview from WGRZ.

Apparently it’s a failed terrorist attack. https://www.foxnews.com/us/ny-vehicle-explosion-reported-rainbow-bridge-niagara-falls-injured

While I think he should be sent down. The team lacks centers if he is sent to Rochester.

We have no idea where Benson ranks among our top forwards until we see what Rosen and Kulich can do. Remember Kulich 2+ years of pro experience under his belt between here and Czechia and Rosen 3+ between here and Sweden. Benson's pro experience is 8 games. At their best TNT is our top forward followed by Tuch. My list 1. TNT 2. Tuch 3. Mitts 4. Skinner 5. Cozens (when healthy) 6. Peterka 7. Greenway 8. Quinn (who is really an unknown at this point until we see him back on the ice and contributing) Then the list gets murky. Talent-wise - Benson, Kulich, and Rosen followed by Krebs and then Savoie. NHL playing wise - VO, KO and Z. If I were KA right now I'd send Krebs to the minors and bring up both Kulich and Rosen. I'd keep Benson for the season and rotate him through with Kulich and Rosen to see which of the 3 makes a difference for Sabres in any. My lineup would be as follows for the next few games Skinner Mitts Tuch JJP Cozens Rosen Greenway Kulich and Benson/VO Girgensons Jost KO

A different set of expectations. That said, this is where the hopium comes in. We know that this team can get its act together and play good hockey. There are significant worries, like the forward depth and terrible PP, but we almost overcame the lack of D depth last year, the injuries to the D and the terrible PK. These seasons so far are almost mirror images of each other Last season - Injuries to the D. This season - injuries to the forwards Last season - Terrible PK and a good PP. This season Terrible PP and good PK Last season - Poor D depth. This season - poor forward depth Last season and this season - 3 headed goalie monster with injuries to Comrie.

I'm not 100% on this one. Krebs, Comrie, Dell, Lyubushkin, assorted garbage from year 1 & 2, and Stillman to name just some of his crappy acquisitions. He has also retain Bryson and UPL, failed to keep Ullmark, failed to add quality veteran starting goaltending. While some of his score card (especially draft wise and that's more on the scouts) is excellent, there are a pile of very poor decisions on his door step.

The best thing to do with Krebs is send him down to Rochester and let him find his game. Each game of failure in the NHL is destroying his confidence. Send him down and let Appert and Co restore him. When we sent down Mitts (114 games) and TNT (106 games) they both played only one full NHL season before being sent down. Despite playing 152 NHL games to date, last year was really Krebs' first full NHL season. Sending him down to work on his game would be just like Mitts and TNT and it worked wonders for them. FYI Krebs loses his waiver exemption in 8 games. KA do it now while you still can.

I keep a spreadsheet every year from 15-17 sources and average them out. Elite Prospects also does a consolidated ranking as well, but they use about 10 sources. I usually publish my list on the board prior to each draft.

Jost was Canada's leading scorer at the U18s with 15 points in 7 games. He had an 11th overall draft grade and was mocked as high at 7th. (McKenzie had him 11th) Lazar played on 2 U20 teams for Canada where he added 7 pts in 7 games (ahead of Reinhart and McDavid and Canada's 3rd leading scorer) and he captained the 2105 team with 9 pts in 7 games. He had a draft grade around 11 or 12 from most writers, but McKenzie had him 18th. Krebs led Canada's U18 team in scoring in 2019 with 10 pts in 7 games (DC had 9). When drafted he was a top 10 prospect who many thought would be drafted around the same spot as Cozens. (McKenzie had him 10th) These were all very highly touted prospects. They were all rated their draft years ahead of Rosen, Kulich and JJP were in theirs. In 2022 Kulich's average ranking was 21st (McKensize had him 18th), Rosen's average draft grade was 21st in 2021 (McKenzie also had him 18th), and JJP was 23rd on McKenzie's list in 2020. I noted McKenzie because he does a survey of NHL GM's and scouts to build his list and is a good reference point.

According to Capfriendly Krebs is still waivers exempt. If this is accurate, send him down, just like we did with Mitts and TNT. Let him play top line minutes and see some success. He isn't helping this team. Jost can play the 4th C and bring up Kulich for the 3rd C role.

Management has to be a judgment much earlier than that. The fans, given the attendance at home games, have already passed judgment as well. This team, as it is currently playing, isn't close to a playoff-caliber team. If KA wants to correct course he is going to have to stop being patient and start being more proactive.

Joki is on the 4th pair with Bryson.

I'm not sure what you mean. The Sabres are on a 77 pt pace. To make the playoffs, the team will need to earn at least 95 points this season, or 78 points in the next 64 games. That's a record of 36-22-6 for a team that has yet to win more than 2 in a row and just came off a 3 game-losing streak. Add to the fact that the 4 teams that made the playoffs from our division last year are all playing good hockey, the Sabres, without a major win streak, are now fighting for the last wild card spot and it's not even Thanksgiving.

Won't know until we try and I think both Kulich and Rosen are better players right now than VO and Jost. Jost is basically a worse version of Lazar and Krebs is following in their footsteps. All 3 were highly touted 1st rd picks (Lazar 17th overall, Jost 10th overall, and Krebs 17th overall), all had success with Canada WJ teams and in their Junior/College careers, but all seem to be lacking something in their skill set to unlock that skill in the NHL.

He has been awful regardless of who he's played with.

So where are the Sbares 18 games (22%) into the season? The Sabres sit in 13th place in the East (by points %). Their -6 differential is 4th worst in the conference. The team is 7th worst in the conference in total GA at 57 and 4th worst in GF with 51. The PK is vastly improved sitting 8th in the NHL at 85.3% (9th in net PK @ 88.2%). The PP is a dismal 27th at 11.5% Goaltending - Despite the bad conference GA, in the NHL as a whole the GA is much improved at 3.17 GA/GP vs 3.62 last season. UPL has been the best of the 3 headed goalie monster and rookie Levi has been the worst. The Defense - Johnson and Johnson have helped to improve the unit over last season, but KA is still riding his big 3 into the ground. Joki is finally showing some offense and Clifton has added some needed physicality but his in-zone play has been a disappointment. Power for all his minutes, hasn't been that good imho. The forwards - Injuries, depth issues, and some brutal play is the story here. Quinn has been out all season. Tuch hasn't really been healthy all season. TNT is now out for at least a month and as we saw with Casey a few years ago, wrist injuries are brutal to return from. I'm not expecting much for TNT for the rest of the year. DC, has also been injured, and his play since his return hasn't been very good, to say the least. With TNT out, the Sabres desperately need to see him step up. Benson, now also back from injury, has had some bright spots and is looking better the last few games. Given our depth and injury issues, odds favor his staying with the club this season. Krebs, VO and Jost have been awful, although VO seems a little better now that he is getting a regular shift again. Skinner is scoring, but is back to playing poorly defensively. Z and KO are done as NHLers imho. I wish we could move on from both, but that won't happen until the offseason. The caveat here is KA trading KO to a contender at the deadline to give him a shot at a Cup. The bright spots have been Greenway, Mitts, and JJP. They have been the only 3 forwards that have come to play each night. This forward mess has basically limited the Sabres to two competitive forward lines which has made the team easier to defend and therefore less productive. The team's 2.83 GF/GP is 25th in the NHL. Interestingly, 5 on 5 the Sabres remain very competitive. The team's 39 goals 5 on 5 is tied for 7th in the NHL (but really 10th when you look at games played at 2.16 GF/GP 5 on 5). While 2.16 isn't bad, it's still down from the 2.40 GF/GP 5 on 5 (197 goals 5 on 5) last season. Simply put the PP is the biggest issue with the offense right now. Another issue with the teams is penalties for and against. Last year the Sabres only had 278 penalties the entire season resulting in only 618 penalty minutes. (3rd least in the NHL). The Sabres drew 322 penalties for a net of +44 top in the NHL. This season is going in the opposite direction. We are already -11 (3rd worst in the NHL). We have drawn 69 penalties (22nd in the NHL) and been called 80 times (7th most). While some have been ticky-tack calls, the majority have come from poor defensive play by all the skaters. Greenway has six minors. Cozens, Tuch, Mitts, Krebs, Dahlin, Mule, and Clifton have 5 each, while Benson, JJP, and KO have 4 each. That's 8 forwards with 38 minors. While some of these may come from physical play (see Greenway), most seem a reflection of forwards not executing in the defensive zone. Bottom line: The Sabres are a young, talented team that isn't executing as a group. Injuries are only a partial excuse. Until they fix the PP and execute better on offense from the entire lineup this is a 500 team at best. Time to send Levi down. Time to call up Kulich and or Rosen to see if they can add a spark with some bottom 6 scoring. Fixing the PP is the greatest need, but I'm not sure the coaching staff is up to the challenge. I'd start with watching the NJ PP and see if we can borrow some concepts. I'd also like KA to acquire another center to bridge TNT's injury and then solidify the 4th line. Adding another physical player for forward depth wouldn't hurt either if we are serious about making the playoffs. Bryson, Jost, and VO should be traded or waived. I'd remain a little patient with Krebs, but it's running out quickly. I'm not expecting KA to make any moves however until the deadline when it will already be too late. Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get a few things off my chest.

Boone Jenner? Don’t see much else worth while.

I generally agree with the above but I think the priority for the forwards is a 3/4 line center. Krebs and Jost aren't good enough to center any line. We need someone who can center a top 3 line while Thompson is out and then can solidify the 4th line when TNT returns. If he adds another physical presence all the better. Who might be available is anyone's guess. I'm also sending Benson back to Juniors.

I miss Anderson’s, Ted’s, Chef’s and Bocce Pizza. I miss the Clarkson House Restaurant in Lewiston (sadly closed). Is Old Man River still around? Vin-Chet’s Bakery. I miss going to Canada and seeing the Falls. I miss going to Fort Erie for Chinese Food. Things that are gone from my childhood like Mr Donut, Pat’s hot dog stand, and Dealings amusement park. Buffalo and WNY was a great place to grow up. Hard to know what changes I have missed because I’ve been gone so long. Last I was there it felt much the same. I still don’t miss the weather.

Born and raised in Williamsville. Bills and Sabres. My parents had season tickets to both as a kid and I was hooked. How could you not get hooked on the French Connection and sadly watching OJ tote the rock? I was also a big Buffalo Braves fan as a kid. Got to know Randy Smith back in the day and became a fan of his and therefore the Braves. Once John Y Brown destroyed the team, I was done with pro hoops. I also find watching the NBA a close cousin to watching paint dry. I am a huge Atlanta Braves fan. Became a Braves fan watching Hank’s run for 715 and going to spring training games in West Palm with my Grandfather. It was somewhat ironic I moved to Atlanta just before they became great. My wife and I had the privilege of attending all the home Braves playoff games in 1991 and 1992. We had so much fun and it solidified our fandom forever. My office is actually across the street from the new Braves stadium. Indiana University sports: They won the NCAA’s in 1987, my Junior year. There is nothing like the energy in Assembly Hall for a basketball game. I took my oldest daughter to an IU vs Purdue when IU was No.1 (Cody Zeller team). My daughter, who grew up attending UGA football games, thought the game was the most exciting sporting event she had been to (prior to UGA’s National Championships). She is, despite being a UGA alum, a huge IU basketball fan. Lastly UGA Football. I married into a huge UGA family. My kids are the 4th straight generation of my wife’s family to attend UGA. Over the last 32 years, i have easily attended over 150 UGA games. Hard not to become a fan. As @LGR4GM will also tell you, there is nothing like Saturday in Athens.

UPL, other than some bad rebound control, was the best Sabre tonight.